At that moment, Fūjin Taichi suddenly found himself troubled by a very important question.
Just how strong… is my spiritual power?
Ever since leaving District 62 of East Rukongai—Hanagare, all the way to the gates of the Seireitei, he had been constantly hungry.
But hunger didn't necessarily mean his spiritual power was strong.
Remembering the words spoken by the woman in red from the Jinzen space, Taichi felt a faint spark of hope.
Maybe… if I master the Wind-Controlling Sword Style, I could become unbeatable.
But then—
He looked down at his hands with growing unease.
The academy requires at least Level Two spiritual power…
Which means the testing device should glow indigo when I channel my energy.
But what if… nothing happens at all?
If that happened, he would be expelled from the Seireitei immediately.
He was technically a soul now.
He couldn't return to the World of the Living, and without academy admission he couldn't live inside the Seireitei either.
Which meant he'd have no choice but to crawl back to Rukongai, scavenging for scraps with stray dogs just to survive.
The thought alone made Taichi shiver.
No way…
I absolutely refuse to end up like that.
With that in mind, Taichi walked straight over to Kira Izuru.
"Excuse me," he said bluntly. "Can you tell me something?"
"How do you… release spiritual power?"
Kira had been whispering with Momo Hinamori in a quiet corner.
Hearing the question, he blinked in surprise.
"Wait… you don't even know how to release spiritual power?"
"Then how did you pass the academy entrance exam?"
"Uh… well…"
Taichi obviously couldn't say that he was basically a fraud.
After hesitating awkwardly for a moment, he muttered,
"My written exam score… wasn't very good."
"I was… specially admitted by Instructor Saitō."
"Oh!"
Kira suddenly understood. "So you're the Fūjin Taichi who ranked dead last on the exam."
"Hey! Why don't you say it a little louder? I think there's a deaf guy over there who didn't hear you!" Taichi glared at him.
"S-Sorry!"
Kira flushed red and lowered his voice.
"I didn't mean to shout."
"Anyway… releasing spiritual power is actually pretty simple."
"You just focus your will toward wherever you want the power to go… and push."
"I see."
"Thanks."
Taichi nodded gratefully before stepping away.
He leaned against a nearby cherry blossom tree, quietly gathering his focus.
Slowly, he tried channeling energy toward the center of his palm, attempting to release his spiritual power.
At that moment, a tall blond-haired boy approached him.
Although his clothes were loose and worn, there was an unmistakable heroic spirit in his expression.
"Don't worry," the boy said kindly, nodding toward Taichi.
"I'm sure you'll become a Shinigami."
"Oh…"
Taichi looked up, a little surprised.
His gaze lingered briefly on the boy's long golden hair before he awkwardly replied,
"Thank you."
"I'm sure you'll become one too."
The blond boy nodded firmly.
"My name is Fujiwara Tatsuma."
"I'm from District 64 of West Rukongai—Sabitsura District."
"Nice to meet you," Taichi replied.
"I'm Fūjin Taichi, from District 63 of East Rukongai—Yone District."
"Yone District?"
A strange look flashed through Tatsuma's eyes.
His voice suddenly grew excited.
"Then do you happen to know Sakazawa Ichirō?"
"Uh… honestly, I haven't been in Soul Society for very long…"
"Ah! I see!"
Tatsuma quickly bowed his head.
"My apologies. That was rude of me."
Just then, he noticed something about Taichi.
The sword strap holding Taichi's Asauchi looked like it was about to snap.
Without hesitation, Tatsuma rummaged through his bag and pulled out a red sword strap.
"Here," he said, offering it.
"If you don't mind, you can use this one for now."
"This... I'd feel bad. Taichi hesitated. "You don't seem very well off either…"
Tatsuma shook his head. "Fūjin, we both come from Rukongai. And we might even end up in the same class."
"People like us have to help each other."
"There's no need to be embarrassed."
He pushed the strap forward again.
"…Alright."
Taichi finally accepted the kindness.
"Thank you."
He removed his worn strap and replaced it with the new red one, fastening his Asauchi securely across his back.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Suddenly, sharp wooden clacks echoed from the entrance of Exam Hall Six.
A teacher wearing a kimono stood at the gate, striking a wooden clapper against the wall with one hand while holding a locust-wood rod in the other.
"The placement test officially begins!"
"Candidate Number 1, enter!"
"Number 2, prepare!"
"All others line up according to your assigned numbers!"
Taichi glanced down at his number plate.
6 — 168
Which meant he was Candidate #168 in Exam Hall Six.
In other words…
There were 167 students ahead of him.
Taichi quietly let out a breath of relief.
Good.
As long as I'm not the first one.
"Well then, Fūjin, I'll head up first!"
Since Fujiwara Tatsuma held Number 2, he quickly moved toward the front of the line. Meanwhile, Fūjin Taichi quietly took his place behind Number 167.
Coincidentally, the blond boy Kira Izuru was somewhere ahead of him in the line, while the black-haired girl Momo Hinamori stood behind him.
Taichi had somehow ended up right between the two of them.
Neither of them paid much attention to him, though.
There were simply too many examinees today, and Taichi's appearance was ordinary enough that they had probably already forgotten what he looked like.
What surprised Taichi the most was how quickly the test moved.
He had assumed the process would take forever.
Yet before he knew it, it was already his turn.
Taichi stepped into the testing hall.
The moment he entered, he noticed a large empty dojo. At its center stood a table, and resting on that table was a multicolored stone.
Judging from its strange design, it was probably a product of the Twelfth Division's research department.
Behind the table sat five Shinigami instructors, all dressed in black robes.
Their expressions were cold and emotionless.
They looked almost exactly like interviewers at a corporate job interview in the human world.
One of them spoke flatly.
"Candidate 168."
"Place your hand on the spiritual measurement stone and release your spiritual power."
"Y-Yes…" Taichi stepped forward and placed his right hand on the stone.
At the same time, he began praying silently in his heart.
The colors go from strongest to weakest: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.
At the very least…
I need the stone to turn indigo!
The surface of the stone felt ice-cold, almost painfully so.
But Taichi didn't dare pull his hand away.
Instead, he clenched his teeth and gathered every ounce of strength he had, desperately imagining his spiritual power flowing into his palm.
Buzz!
Suddenly—
The testing stone flashed purple.
The expressions of the five Shinigami instructors changed instantly.
Shock flickered in their eyes.
But before anyone could react—
The color abruptly shifted.
The purple glow vanished as if it had never existed.
In its place appeared a steady yellow light.
It was almost as if the earlier purple had simply been an illusion.
Fifth-rank spiritual power!
Taichi withdrew his hand, breathing heavily.
Only one step below Shiba Kaien?!
He nearly burst out laughing inside.
Looks like I might actually be a hidden genius!
Even though he was exhausted, relief flooded his heart.
As long as I study hard…
One day, I'll become the strongest Shinigami!
"Candidate 168."
The instructor seated in the center stamped Taichi's identification plate with a red seal.
"Third-rank. First Year, Class Two."
"Next candidate."
The testing continued immediately.
"Wait… what?!"
Taichi left the exam hall in confusion.
With my level of spiritual power… shouldn't I qualify for the Advanced Promotion Class?!
Are these guys rigging the results?!
But when he saw the strange expressions on the other freshmen outside, realization slowly dawned on him.
He had been tricked by Kira Izuru.
The color rankings Kira mentioned earlier—
Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple…
Those colors actually represented spiritual power from weakest to strongest, not the other way around.
The minimum requirement for academy admission—Level Two—was when the testing stone turned orange.
Which meant…
Taichi's result of yellow meant his spiritual power was only Level Three.
Barely passing.
In other words—
Not only was he not a genius…
He was practically cannon fodder.
After wandering around the academy buildings for a while, Taichi eventually found the classroom labeled:
First Year — Class Two
The large room already had quite a few students inside.
Judging by the atmosphere, most of them probably had Level Two or Level Three spiritual power, just like him.
If nothing unexpected happened, this class would likely become the main source of ordinary Shinigami in the future.
The lucky ones might eventually become seated officers.
The unlucky ones would spend their entire lives as regular division members.
After all, in the world of Bleach, the amount of spiritual pressure determined a Shinigami's strength.
And the limit of one's spiritual power determined how strong that pressure could ultimately become.
Thinking about the fact that his spiritual power was only Level Three, Taichi felt a headache coming on.
Does this mean…
When captain-level battles happen in the future…
I'll just be lying on the ground like a dog, gasping for air?
...
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